Don’t panic! It wasn’t that bad. Actually, it was quite good – just very busy!
Nathanael hanging out with friends after the Sunday service. We meet just behind this little Christian bookstore, owned by a woman in the church.
This past weekend was full of blessings, actually. On Saturday morning, the women of the Las Palmas church had their first regular Bible study. (Lots of clarification there, of course – there have been regular Bible studies for adults, and lots of women’s activities, but I don’t think we’ve had a regular women’s study until now.)
As you might have guessed, I (Jim) was not there. However, from the reports I heard it was a great time. A great turn out, everyone sharing… very cool. And, on Sunday, more women showing interest (e.g. purchasing the Bible study book they’re using).
Sunday evening was the first men’s study. And as seems to be a common trend in the world, fewer numbers! But actually we had fewer men in the first place, and one got called into work, another got sick… so we had a small study. But it was a fun one – that’s where we went through purgatory.
One of the men had been talking to some people in the week and had received a paper about how biblical purgatory is. So we took some time to look at some of the Bible passages. (Spoiler – purgatory actually is not biblical. So although we went through the topic of purgatory, no one will actually go through purgatory!) And, as is often the case, God surprised us with a lot of truths that had a very person application for us.
On Sunday morning we were counting the chairs and wondering if we should buy some more. Yes, we were full up – men, women, teens and children. Some of our regular people were away, but there were also lots of visitors. So we were taking time in our service to explain how we do things, and to make sure people had access to information about our church. And sharing songbooks, because we didn’t have enough.
I always have extra respect for people who visit – it’s a brave thing to visit a church for the first time. Especially around here – sadly, we hear horror stories about people who visit churches and have a very bad experience (many of these would not be biblical churches at all – a reality in this area). So I hope we made everyone feel welcome.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many of you have been contacting us lately, telling us that you’re praying, asking what you can pray for. We even recently enjoyed a couple of special prayer times with coworkers via video chat. And if you’re part of our Support Team, you’ll be getting a newsletter in the next week or two (Lord willing) with news and prayer requests.
It did feel like a battle going into the weekend (and coming out of it!) for various reasons. But sometimes opposition reminds us that God is working in a special way.
So thanks for your prayers! Do continue to pray for the many new people we’ve been coming in contact with, especially those who do not yet know the Lord.
Today we’re going to continue our look at Genesis 1 and 2, an important foundation for what is to come.
This is a taco. Read on to find out why it’s here.
We’re nailing down 3 keywords that we’ll look at again and again in the future, Lord willing.
#1 – Truth. These chapters explain how we can know truth in the first place – why it exists, and why it can be known.
Now, let’s move on to #2.
2. Dependence
We depend on something outside of ourselves, and everything depends on God. This shouldn’t be difficult to understand. We need air to breath.
And here’s something even more mind-blowing. We need to begin to exist! If nothing ever began to exist, it wouldn’t be here now. And nothing can make itself exist, because it wouldn’t be there to make itself exist.
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” …
Exodus 3:14
Who is God? Where did He come from? When did He begin?
I AM. Go as far as you like into the future – I AM. Turn around and travel back into the past – I AM. Go to the edges of the universe, and then beyond creation itself – I AM.
You see, nothing caused God. He doesn’t have a beginning. And that’s why everything else exists. Because Someone brought everything else into existence.
Hmmmm… I thought this post would be a little lighter. Oh well.
Look. If I drop something on the floor, what caused that to happen? I did. Or maybe you could say, gravity. Very well, what caused me? You might say, “Your parents”. And them? And on and on we go. But something must have caused the first thing in the chain – something that did not have, or need, a “cause”. If it needed a cause, it wouldn’t be the first thing. And that is the Almighty Eternal God.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…
Hebrews 1:1-3
Who sustains the universe – keeps it running? The Son of God.
We are dependent beings – God is independent. He needs no one and nothing. And listen, this isn’t just any god, some “higher power”. This is the Holy Trinity, Yahweh of the Bible.
This also means that we are limited and finite. We get tired and go to sleep. We become hungry, and we eat. We get old and die. But God is unlimited and infinite.
I hope the importance of this will become clearer later. But now, let’s get the last keyword!
3. Purpose
God is a being with His own will.
When we do something, we do it for a reason. Sometimes a bad reason. Or we might not even be aware of the reason! Like when you walk into the kitchen and forget why you went there. But generally, we do things for a reason.
And God?
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Revelation 4:11
By His will. But we read even more on Colossians:
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:16
Who is “him”? In the context, it’s the Son of God, Jesus Christ. And so we might say, Jesus is the purpose of the Creation.
There’s more.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
Psalm 97:6
In the creation we see His righteousness and His glory. What’s “glory”? The meaning varies a little, depending on the context. But basically, it’s something worthy of praise. It’s the revelation or demonstration of something wonderful.
And so, God shows Himself to us in His creation, and He is wonderful! Surprising! Powerful!
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[a] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 1:19-20
God reveals Himself in His creation. We can know something of the creation, and so we can know something of Him. The creation reveals the eternal power and divine nature of the Creator.
When we see something that is wonderful and beautiful, what is the appropriate response?
Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created.
Psalm 148:5
Praise. And part of praise is – words! He created with words, and we respond with words. Words are important!
But, as most Christians know, we really praise God with all of our lives, all of our being. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
This purpose – giving glory to God, glory to the Son, praise – it happens in a million different ways.
One way is through His commandments. And what commandments do we see in Genesis 1 and 2? How about Genesis 1:28?
Have kids! Not everyone will have kids, but that is one way to praise God. Fill the earth! “…and subdue it, and have dominion…”
Take control of the earth. Use its resources. Invent things. Bake cookies! Plant a garden. Fix a car. Create music. Invent the taco.
Speaking of tacos, I used a taco as an illustration to finish this part of the study. My apologies if you’re not a taco fan. (And why not??)
What is a taco?
What is a taco? Well, let me put it this way. In an imaginary world without God, what is a taco?
Well, how would you know? You really couldn’t.
But let’s say we could observe some things. Empiricism, remember? We really can’t trust our observations in this imaginary world, but let’s borrow from the Christian worldview and pretend we can.
A taco is a series of molecules, chemicals. They all come together, and a human creature can eat it and survive.
Atheist Richard Dawkins called humans “survival machines”. That’s all we are. By some chance, we’ve come together so that we can survive.
The frightening thing about that is that the other humans around us are simply a part of our “environment”. We use them to survive. Really, there is no “love”.
What a cold, cruel universe. Except – cruelty really isn’t a thing, because there’s no good or evil, there just “is”.
Everything is mechanical, in this view. The only reason we “taste” tacos is because by chance it helps us to survive. What a depressing, sad, confusing world! Without Genesis 1, there is no truth or purpose in anything.
We teach people this, and then we wonder why so many are stressed and depressed?
But let’s get back to the real world.
God created good food for our good. 1 Timothy 4:3 – “…foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
Sure, we can study the molecules in the taco. We can be amazed at the order and creativity and power of God. At the same time, people created in His image used their intelligence and creativity to invent the taco.
Yes, we see the miracle of God’s creation in the taco. We thank God for His good gifts. And Jesus keeps the atoms spinning, holding the taco together (something my own fingers can’t always do successfully)! It’s the truth.
And it’s a world of thanksgiving, logic, science, and praise.
That’s the real world.
I hope you’re beginning to see how Genesis 1 and 2 change everything.
If you’re a believer, I encourage you to take a minute or two to read Psalm 148, out loud if you can. It is a wonderful response to these truths from Genesis.
Resources
In each of our studies, I tried to share some resources for those who wanted to go more in-depth. Obviously, the resources I originally shared were all in Spanish. However, on the topics we’ve been talking about so far, I highly recommend the resources that astrophysicist Dr. Jason Lisle has created. In particular:
That was actually the title of my sermon this past Sunday, on the amazing chapter – Exodus 6.
As we and others share the gospel with those around us, this chapter has been a reminder that the power is not in us, but in God’s Word. And even greater, salvation itself is a work of God.
You probably remember some of the basics of the story. Moses himself was reluctant to go to Egypt, to be involved in this great liberation. He complained that he wasn’t a good speaker, but he probably had a lot of reasons not to go, based on his history.
Then when he arrived and got started, things immediately got worse. Pharoah just mocked him, and then raised the workload of the Israelite slaves to an impossible level. The foremen were against Moses and his big brother Aaron as well, complaining that all they had done was give Pharoah a sword to kill them all.
So in chapter 6, God gives Moses an overview – a roadmap – of His great plan of salvation. All of it is what God will do, none of it seems to depend on Moses and the Israelites at all.
But when Moses returns to share this great plan with the Israelites, this is the scene we see:
Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
Exodus 6:9
And Moses himself continued to complain. “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”
Of course, according to Moses, the whole plan revolved around whether or not he would succeed. See the quote above? “Me…me…I…”.
But unbelief didn’t stop God. A mocking king didn’t stop God. Depression didn’t stop God. It’s as if God didn’t even notice all these supposedly massive obstacles. There is no comment on them whatsoever. The very next verse says:
But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 6:13
There’s no doubt a lot of opposition. But God’s great plan is really and truly not dependent on us. God’s power is really and truly not hindered by the huge “roadblocks” that we can’t see past.
Do pray against the discouragement that the believers here often feel – but keep praying that God will work, and He will.
We were very excited to talk on Sunday about starting up men’s and women’s Bible studies from now until the summer. It was great to hear people’s desire to learn from God’s Word, in spite of concerns and doubts. There are some huge needs in our small group. Please pray that God would use these studies to bring Himself glory.
And pray for those who have still not come to the Lord. They don’t yet know His transforming power, and are still under their “broken spirit and harsh slavery”.
Due to a general lack of writing actual posts around here, Finding direction has been rather quiet lately. So we’ll take this post as a reminder that I should write more. 🙂
That being said, here’s a little list of the most popular posts from the last 90 days, in chronological order.
I’ll start with a “retro” post. I don’t always include these in the list, but since other posts have been rather sparse, check out Retro: The (lo-res) Family, from 10 years ago November.
I’ll “cheat” again and include the full series on the Christmas carol, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”. After all, the message is still relevant! Christmas Song #4: Index and Resources
Completing a special series in 2021, and yes, I am putting some of the material online in 2022. A Year in Biblical Anthropology!
Let’s continue our look at Genesis 1 and 2 (part 1 here: 7 Hebrew Words).
There is a lot that we can learn about humans from these chapters. And as I’ve said, we’ll be back here a lot as we continue this conversation (Lord willing). If you’d like to take a few minutes to meditate for yourself, why not read Genesis 1:25-31 and make a list of some of your initial observations about humankind.
There are three key things that I learned from this text, that I would like you to remember. Three keywords. Let’s just cover one today. And this may get a little philosophical, so hold on to your hats.
1. Truth
It’s interesting to note that everyone seems to have some kind of basic “authority”. We might also say that everyone has “presuppositions”. Here’s a common example: “empiricism”.
“Empiricism” comes from the Greek word for experience. Basically, in empiricism, the ultimate authority is observation. You learn truth by what you see, hear, taste, and so on. Knowledge is based on experience.
For the Christian, although we recognize that there are various ways to learn truth, our ultimate authority is God’s Word – revelation – the Bible.
Weird, eh? So, instead of observing and gaining scientific knowledge, we believe in some old religious book? That doesn’t sound very reasonable, does it?
But wait a moment. Without that book, science couldn’t exist.
“Wait a minute”, you say. “Many atheists believe in science. Hey, some are actually very good scientists themselves!”
You’re right. Let’s put it this way. Without the truth of this Book, science could not exist.
Ok, let’s say that all knowledge comes from observation. Here’s a question. How do you know that all knowledge comes from observation? Have you observed every little bit of truth in the cosmos, and have you observed that every bit of truth can be observed? And you’re sure that no truth exists outside of your observation? How do you know that what you’re observing is “true”?
Of course not. So, as an ultimate system of knowledge, this idea is inconsistent. The foundation of this idea is unstable.
Now here’s something that most people don’t think about: You really can’t test a supreme authority. If you could, then you would be the supreme authority, with the ability to judge the lesser authority.
But here’s something you can do, to some extent. You can see that your authority is consistent – it’s logical.
Listen, I agree – we can learn a lot from observation. But how do I know?
What if – what if Someone who is the source of all knowledge and the source of all that exists – what if that Someone were to tell me something? That would be a solid foundation for my knowledge.
Now, imagine that we all evolved by chance from a bunch of amoebas. We’re just a random collection of chemicals. Like an alien in Star Trek says, we’re bags of mostly water (because our bodies are mostly made of water). How do we know that our observations are correct? How does a bag of chemicals know anything? Maybe we just think we know something.
If your brain is just a bunch of broccoli of a different colour, why should you trust it? Maybe your species learned to survive and reproduce by believing false things.
Or, if something is true today, will it be true tomorrow? Why?
Maybe every 5000 years, all the laws of mathematics change. Poof! 4+4 now equals pink.
Now many people say, “Ok, maybe, but at least the knowledge I have ‘works'”. How do you know it “works”? And what do you mean, “works”?
And of course many people today try to argue that absolute truth doesn’t exist at all. (Of course, the stereotypical response is – how can you say that it’s universally absolutely true that nothing is universally absolutely true?)
Great, so imagine that your surgeon no longer needs to attend university, because there is no universal truth. Would you like that person to do your next heart surgery?
But what if God made the world, and then told us what He did? That would mean that we have a trustworthy source of truth. And He created an orderly universe, with certain “laws”. And what if He wants to communicate with us? He wants to be known. Well, we would expect that He would communicate with us, in a way we would understand, right?
Check this out:
Thus says the LORD: “If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.”
Jeremiah 33:25-26
God is the source of physical laws. God fixed natural laws in place at the creation. And so, we expect that those laws will be the same tomorrow, because God created them, and God wants us to know Him.
You might have noticed some other things in Genesis 1 and 2. God separates things, and that is good. Creation isn’t just a big grey ball of creation, right? Look at all the different people, even just in your own family, or your own neighbourhood! Look at all the different plants, animals, climates . . . this is not an illusion, it’s real!
Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Malachi 2:10
God created everyone. And so we should have a relationship with one another based on truth. We should not be “faithless”, as Malachi says.
Not only is God the source of physical laws, God is the source of loyalty and trust.
For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), Who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the LORD, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.
Isaiah 45:18-19
There it is. God wants us to have a relationship with Him. And so He speaks the truth.
And so this is why it is possible to search for and find truth.
And here we see one of the purposes of the earth – “he formed it to be inhabited”.
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Acts 17:24-28
It’s possible to seek God. He created us, He gave us a place to live. And He wants to have a relationship with us. Again, this is why it is possible to search for, and find, truth. And we could also say, it’s possible to seek for, and find, God.
God reveals Himself. He ordered the universe so that we would find repeatable physical laws at work. Also, moral laws, a difference between good and evil. We can learn coherent rules of logic. God wants us to know Him.
That’s why true knowledge or wisdom starts with God. Proverbs 1:7a, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…”
Of course, you can possess knowledge without “fearing the LORD”. But you must assume that you live in God’s creation – that is, that there is some transcendent order in the universe. As some have put it, you must “steal” our biblical vision of the world in order to hold up your understanding. Because without God’s Word, your worldview isn’t stable and consistent – there is no solid foundation.
Next time we’ll try to get to the next two words – which should be a little simpler!
